President Barack Obama and Gov. Chris Christie talk as they fly over the coast of New Jersey on Marine One on Oct. 31.The White House

TRENTON — A plurality of New Jersey Republicans think media bias is the most important issue facing their party today according to a poll released today.

The NJ Speaks poll, sponsored by Kean University and conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, found 40 percent of the state’s Republicans said media bias is the biggest issue. Another 32 percent cited the nation’s changing demographics, and 16 percent said the party is too conservative.

When asked what they blame the most for GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s defeat, 29 percent blamed Hurricane Sandy for distracting voters, 22 percent said the GOP moved too far to the right, and 19 percent said Democrats ran a better campaign. Just 9 percent thought Romney was a poor candidate.

And even though 90 percent of New Jersey Republicans approve of Gov. Chris Christie, a majority appears to side with the conservative pundits who blame him for helping President Obama win reelection. Fifty-five percent said the governor’s appearance with Obama in New Jersey helped the president.

And while several high profile Republican officials and pundits have said the party needs to support immigration reform to appeal to the growing Hispanic voting bloc, just 12 percent of New Jersey Republicans agree. Thirty-seven percent, however, said the party should de-emphasize social issues like opposition to gay marriage and abortion.

Garden State Republicans are split when asked how they feel about their own relationships with the national party, with 42 percent feeling connected to it and 42 percent feeling alienated by it.

Fifty percent think he should run for president in 2016, while 32 percent think he shouldn’t.

“While the 50 percent figure may seem low given the Governor’s unquestioned popularity, there are mitigating factors,” said Terry Golway, director of the Kean Center for History, Politics, and Policy. “New Jersey voters are savvy enough to know that the Governor may feel compelled to forego a second term in order to run for president, or that he certainly would not complete a second term if he were elected president in 2016. It could be that some New Jersey Republicans would rather keep their Governor home for as long as they can.”

Golway noted that the question on whether Christie should run for president was asked immediately after whether Christie helped Obama by appearing with him in Sandy’s aftermath.

“It’s possible that some Republicans were reminded of the Governor’s appearance with the President, and so responded negatively when asked if they thought the Governor should run for president,” he said.

The poll surveyed 1,000 likely Republican voters on November 13 and November 14. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.